Pro Sports – To Tweet or Not to Tweet?

Pro Sports – To Tweet or Not to Tweet?

There is quite a bit of talk out there regarding pro sports clubs, their star athletes, their management, the sports media and whether or not some, many or any of the people working in the 'pro sports world' should be using Twitter and if so - when?, how often? and for what purpose should they actually use it?, if they should be using it at all......

Very controversial stuff. Many NFL Clubs have banned Twitter from the Clubhouse and have threatened to fine any athletes who use it before, during or after games. They have also requested that management and administrative staff stay away from using Twitter as well. ESPN, the popular all-sports TV, Online and Radio Network in the USA, no longer wants breaking news to be broadcast or broken on their Twitter pages because they are non-revenue generating and want them only on ESPN websites so that the traffic is monetized accordingly.

Should a pro athlete have the right to Tweet during a game? Should he or she be able to sit on the sidelines while off for a shift or set of downs with his iPhone typing away on why he dropped the last pass thrown to him or engage in discussion with fans on what the team is going to do to win the game? In this world of 'real time' anything is possible and all is available - question is...what should be made available and where does one cross the line? Some people think pro athletes should be focused on the game when they are playing it and trying to win as opposed to being distracted from the on-goings on the field and not focusing on the task at hand. Pro athletes are paid to win games after all and are not paid to Tweet.

As for the mainstream sports media - they do have a point... if Twitter pages cannot be monetized as well as their own, then why would they want to use Twitter to break stories about a player trade or a new player signing or anything else that is newsworthy? Maybe, Twitter is best used to drive people back to a site, but not to give out the full story right then and there?

What are your thoughts? Should pro athletes or team management have Twitter pages? If so, when should they use them and when should they not be permitted to use them? How should Sports Media properties leverage Twitter for breaking news stories? Interested in hearing from you...

Ron Kunitzky, an expert in strategic business affiliations and partnerships and founder of Geyser Marketing Group " the Partnership Marketing Firm, and has successfully brokered partnership marketing programs for companies as varied as Coastal Contacts, Dell Computer, NASDAQ, and 1-800-GOT-JUNK?.

Ron Kunitzky, an expert in strategic business affiliations and partnerships is the founder of Geyser Marketing Group, and has successfully brokered partnership marketing programs for companies as varied as Coastal Contacts, Dell Computer, NASDAQ, and 1-800-GOT-JUNK?

5 Comments

I guess this a bit like when employees get canned for blogging about work. Twitter should be fine to use for personal, but I’m not sure if pre-game you want your team focusing on anything other than gameplan?

For the life of me I just don’t get the entire tweet thing… Why would I want to share tiny tidbits of my life with the world? The answer is simple… I wouldn’t! I think pro sports should avoid the “tweet” craze as its just another fad of the week.

I guess this a bit like when employees get canned for blogging about work. Twitter should be fine to use for personal, but I’m not sure if pre-game you want your team focusing on anything other than gameplan?

Twitter blah i dont get it either at the moment we have texting on phones now facebook on phones now twitter, there are so many people walking around staring at the phones wondering what to write next as the true art of conversation gone?